Microsoft retires Vista, Office 2007 from mainstream support this week

Microsoft will shift Windows Vista and Office 2007 into what it calls extended support over the next two days.

Vista, the problem-plagued operating system that never really took hold among users, will exit mainstream support on Tuesday, April 10. According to Microsoft, Office 2007 leaves mainstream support today.

In a product's extended support phrase, Microsoft continues to provide security patches to all users, but offers other fixes -- such as reliability and stability updates -- only to organizations that have signed support contracts with the company.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225979/Microsoft_retires_Vista_Office...

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50th Wedding Anniversary Gifts

For 50th wedding anniversary gifts, people really should think outside the box. When it comes to celebrating a long-term union, thinking outside the box simply means coming up with ideas out of the ordinary and outside of the typical gift box. In light of today's dire divorce statistics, couples who have managed to stay happily married for a half a century deserve the very best. Fifty years of marital bliss may be commemorated with the couple renewing their vows; but whether they walk down the aisle again or not, family and friends will want to shower them with their heart's desire. Some couples may have always wanted to travel to exotic and faraway places, but raising a family prohibited realizing those kinds of dreams. Now is the time for the children and grandchildren to say, "Thanks," with 50th wedding anniversary gifts that give couples a chance to experience life as never before. An all-expenses paid cruise or flight to domestic or foreign shores for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation might be just the ticket. Travel may be expensive, but if the whole family pitches in, the cost can be affordable. Honoring parents is a Biblical principle which can add longevity to the lives of their children. "Honor thy father and thy mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth" (Ephesians 9:2-3).
In lieu of typical 50th wedding anniversary gifts, planning an exotic Hawaiian island vacation for Mom and Dad is pretty simple. Online agencies may offer off-season specials or package deals which include airline fare, hotel accommodations, and car rental. By taking advantage of the best vacation packages, families can afford to give honorees the time of their life and one of the best 50th wedding anniversary gifts imaginable. When the honored guests arrive at the airport, have a chauffeured limousine waiting to take them to the hotel. Only the best accommodations will do for couples who have surely weathered so many storms to reach that fiftieth year. Make sure to schedule relaxing saunas for Dad and a spa treatment with the works for a hardworking Mom; or let the two of them choose from the hotel's offering of activities, tours and amenities. For an ideal getaway, arranging accommodations at an island villa gives the couple more privacy and a chance to enjoy surf, sand and sea. Dad may want to try his hand at deep sea fishing or snorkeling; while Mother spends a leisurely afternoon browsing exclusive seaside shops and boutiques.

For landlubbers, fabulous 50th wedding anniversary gifts could include stateside excursions to the Grand Canyon or a junket to sunny Florida. The key is to give couples their heart's desire, whether it is camping in a redwood forest or renting an RV for a road trip throughout the south. And because the happy couple is commemorating a half of a century of wedded bliss, the celebration doesn't have to end in a day or even a week. A great way to prolong the joy of 50th wedding anniversary gifts is to give couples something different for every weekend of the year. Print out or purchase discount coupons for special treats to be redeemed every weekend for fifty weeks. Seniors love dining out, but most are on a tight budget. Why not give coupons for two entrees at a favorite restaurant or bistro? The honorees can save money and savor the fine cuisine of Italian, French, or American restaurants in the area. Coupons at the local car wash, grocery store, beauty salon, or golf course are also great money saving gifts to enjoy throughout the year.

The best 50th wedding anniversary gifts may come in small packages. Sometimes, couples get the most satisfaction from timeless memories of days gone by. Seniors love taking walks down memory lane; and nothing brings those precious times closer than vintage photos. Online vendors offer anniversary mementos made from favorite family snapshots. Matching T-shirts, tote bags, pillows, and quilts can be imprinted with images of the bride and groom fifty years ago! Or family portraits can be screened onto almost any fabric or hand painted onto ceramic platters or custom necklaces and pins. Still photos can also be digitized and sound added to create a streaming video which chronicles special moments in the life of the honored couple. Take still pictures of the original wedding party and add other snapshots of a first pregnancy and children as they were born. Chronicle shots of a first home, summer vacations, college graduations, birthdays, and camping trips for a moving tribute to traditional family life. Placing old photos in a digital scrapbook creates a timeless treasure and one of the most endearing 50th anniversary wedding gifts that the entire clan can enjoy for years to come.

For those who prefer giving traditional 50th wedding anniversary gifts, online websites offer everything from jewelry, clothing, and electronics, to collectible precious metal coins or bullion. Older adults will appreciate gifts that keep on giving. Collectors can realize tremendous gains with gold or silver coins and bullion, liquid assets that increase in value, are safe from stock market fluctuations, and can help build up retirement savings. Instead of relying on high-risk, low-interest passbook savings and 401ks to tide them over the golden years, seniors can add coins or bullion to an investment portfolio or next egg. No matter what the cost, the perfect anniversary present is one that conveys expressions of love and well wishes, especially for husbands and wives whose marriages have withstood the test of time.

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Sony Ericsson W580i Walkman Black (ATT Unlocked) GSM Cell Phone Price Dropped to $99.99

Unlocked Sony Ericsson W580i Introduces New Features

A sleek design scheme and an emphasis on technology make this one of the standout mobile devices on the market.

With ingenious design traits and a 14mm thin profile, this is an unlocked phone that you can?t afford not to have. It can easily fit in your pocket and the 2-inch screen is good enough to fit a lot of information on it. The internal memory is suitable enough to store a couple songs, but if you are looking to keep your collection on it, then the memory stick micro will have to do. GPRS is onboard for those who need the extra power and while there isn?t 3G, calls still come in very clear.

Get an update on technology

This lightweight device delivers more power that some other weight-comparable devices. This is thanks in part to Sony Ericsson engineering which has been at the forefront of design technology for years now. EDGE technology gives users complete control over the multimedia that they watch and can even download movies on the fly. Bluetooth technology allow people to converse without having to hold the phone, this is perfect for driving. Finally the 2 Megapixel Camera is essential for cementing images in your mind.

Key features of Unlocked Sony Ericsson W580 include:

-?Quad-Band connectivity
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The Sony Ericsson W580, cell phones accessories and unlocked cell phones are available on Cellhut?s website ? www.cellhut.com, where You Choose Your Phone, Not Your Service. Cellhut, Your Key To Unlocking Wireless Freedom

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S.Korea's Twitter generation may give liberals upset win

SEOUL | Mon Apr 9, 2012 11:13am IST

SEOUL

(Reuters) - South Korea's liberal opposition, bolstered by the under-40s and power of social media, could spring a surprise win in this week's parliamentary elections despite opinion polls that show it tied with the ruling conservatives.

Experts say traditional pollsters base their projections on owners of fixed telephone lines, whereas people in their 20s and 30s, who form 37 percent of the voting population in the world's most wired country, rarely use them.

The young, more likely to carry a Samsung Galaxy or Apple iPhone in their pockets, are mostly liberal and their views are expressed and spread online, often by their smartphones.

"Views expressed in cyberspace are about 20 percent favourable to us and 80 percent against," said Lee Jun-seok, a 27-year old Harvard-educated computer expert brought in to help revamp the ruling conservative Saenuri Party's online presence.

"It's almost like as soon as you say something for our party, you come under attack."

The five most popular politicians on Twitter are all left-wingers. The top conservative is presidential contender Park Geun-hye who ranks eighth with about 180,000 followers, according to Koreantweeters.com, a website on Twitter power.

On the other hand, a traditional Realmeter poll taken between March 26-30 showed 39.8 percent support for the ruling conservatives, 30.5 percent support for the main opposition Democrat United Party and 8.1 percent for its coalition partner, the United Progressive Party.

At the end of last year, traditional polls had the conservatives trailing the opposition, but now suggest the ruling party has made a comeback. Experts said they were flawed.

"Random digit dialing systems based on fixed lines rule out young people, workers who come home late and households that don't have landlines," said Yoon Hee-woong from the Korea Society Opinion Institute, a research organisation.

South Korea has the world's second largest blogging community after China. Twitter use here is twice the world average, according to a Singapore Management University study. And they have enormous leverage in elections because the government has now lifted a ban on campaigning in social media.

"On Twitter, we are like birds talking to each other. That's something that can't be controlled," said Kim Mi-wha, 47, a television comedian with almost 290,000 Twitter followers who is part of a band of celebrity super-tweeters embracing liberal causes.

Super-tweeters like Kim have already helped elect an independent activist as mayor of Seoul, ending conservative control over the capital last year.

Although polls had put the eventual winner, Park Won-soon, ahead in the mayoral race, his victory was much more decisive than indicated.

COUNTERWEIGHT

Social media has also acted as a counterweight to the mainstream media, which is largely controlled by the huge conglomerates that dominate the world's 13th largest economy.

It could prompt young voters who are concerned with issues like growing income inequality to swing behind the Democrat United Party that is opposed to a free trade agreement with the United States and wants restrictions on big businesses.

"I don't know about what kind of tricks politicians are going to play with Twitter but the enormous young population will take part in the vote anyway," Kim, the comedian, said.

Rattled by the opposition's success in mobilising the youth vote in the Seoul mayoral campaign, the Saenuri Party has responded by boosting its social media credentials, but admits it faces an uphill battle.

Lee, the ruling party expert, says one of the reasons Twitter works so well here is that its 140 character bursts offer a perfect fit for the Korean language that can pack a lot more into its space than English.

"In English, basically all you can do is to tell someone to check out a YouTube link. In Korean, you can not only describe what the clip is about but how you feel about it," said Lee.

The Twitter boom has also triggered some distinctly old-school money politics with charges that members of parliament are paying for followers to boost their popularity.

Local newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported that accounts with 20,000 followers were changing hands for 2 million Korean won (about $1,770).

"A lawmaker's office offered me bonuses if I gathered more than 10,000 followers," said a woman who spoke on condition of anonymity and used to manage a lawmaker's Twitter page.

INFLUENCE WILL ONLY GROW

South Korea's parliamentary elections are essentially a dry run for the powerful presidency. That vote in December will be the key test of whether the Twitter-using liberals can turn their lock on cyberspace into hard political power.

Yu Chang-ju, who helped manage Park Won-soon's election win as Seoul mayor and now advises him on new media strategy, says the number of Twitter users will double by the time of the presidential election in December to about 10 million, or about one-fifth of the population.

"Twitter is a tool for many moderate Koreans to vent anger against the rich, the current administration and the ruling party," said Huh Chang-deog, a sociology professor at Yeungnam University.

"This year's elections are going to be the SNS (social networking sites) users' group versus non-SNS group," he said.

Kim, the comedian, says Twitter has the power to make or break politicians' reputations in seconds.

"Politicians will become more scared of SNS and they will be careful about what they say and do? I am hoping for a big social change through Twitter here like the Jasmine Revolution," she said, referencing the protests in Tunisia that helped trigger the "Arab Spring" uprisings last year.

(Editing by David Chance and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Trevor Bayne Not Running NNS Texas Race?

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Cruise ship to retrace voyage of Titanic

LONDON (AP) ? A cruise carrying relatives of some of the more than 1,500 people who died aboard the Titanic nearly 100 years ago set sail from England on Sunday to retrace the ship's voyage, including a visit to the location where it sank.

The Titanic Memorial Cruise, carrying the same number of passengers ? not including crew ? as the Titanic did, cast off from Southampton, where the doomed vessel left on its maiden voyage. The 12-night cruise will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the White Star liner.

Waving passengers crowded the decks as the ship prepared to set sail, many dressed in period costumes as first-class passengers, crew members, steerage passenger and stewards.

Graham Free was dressed as an Edwardian gentleman and described his excitement for the cruise as he waited to board.

"I have been a fan of the Titanic since I was nine years old and this cruise is the closest you are going to get to it," said the 37 year old. "The trip has cost a considerable amount, but I wanted to do it."

Fellow cruiser Carmel Bradburn, 55, who lives in Australia, described herself as "fanatical" about the Titanic and struck back at accusations that retracing the doomed voyage is in poor taste.

"I don't think the cruise is morbid. It's like saying Gallipoli is morbid or commemorating the (Crimean) war," she said. "Remembering those who died is not morbid."

With 1,309 passengers aboard, the MS Balmoral will follow the same route as the Titanic ? though the Balmoral had to leave two days earlier than the Titanic did because it is a small and slower vessel.

The Balmoral is operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, whose parent company, Harland and Wolff, built the Titanic in Belfast. It has been chartered for the event by Miles Morgan Travel, which specializes in tailor-made holidays.

The organizers are trying to recreate the onboard experience ? minus the disaster ? including the food and a live band playing music from that era, in a tribute to Titanic's musicians who reportedly played their instruments until the ship sank.

People from 28 countries have booked passage, organizers said, including relatives of some of the more than 1,500 people who died when the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, in international waters in the North Atlantic. Other passengers include relatives of the around 700 survivors, along with authors and historians.

The tickets varied in cost from 2,799 pounds ($4,445) to 5,995 pounds ($9,520).

Over the course of the voyage, passengers will attend lectures by Titanic experts such as Philip Littlejohn, grandson of a Titanic survivor. Littlejohn said he is sure his grandfather would be proud to know his story would be shared with passengers on the Titanic Memorial Cruise.

"It will be an emotional moment when we are over the wreck site, where I dived in 2001 and where my grandfather left Titanic rowing Lifeboat 13," he said.

While on board, passengers also will dine on meals based around dishes served in April 1912, with a formal dinner on April 13 made up entirely of dishes served aboard the Titanic.

Cruise organizers have set up a special memorial service on April 14 to start at 11:40 p.m. to mark the moment Titanic hit the iceberg, and later at the exact moment when the ship sank.

The cruise is among an abundance of commemorations and memorials to the reputedly unsinkable ship that have sprung up to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's doomed voyage.

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Parade of Lights Dinner Cruises

??Holiday
??Food and Wine

Overview

When: Every Sunday from 12/09/2012 to 12/16/2012

Description

Watch the festively decorated local boats as they while you enjoy the sights and lights from your comfortable table onboard our yacht. Join Hornblower for the Boat Parade of Lights Extravaganza and enjoy a holiday buffet and plenty of good cheer!

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Laura Prudom: 5 OMG Moments From This Week's 'Gossip Girl'

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 5, Episode 19 of The CW's "Gossip Girl," entitled "It Girl Interrupted."

Could it be? Has "Gossip Girl" finally recovered from the succession of terribly-written, clumsily-directed cheesefests that populated the middle part of the season? Is it actually making some modicum of logical sense and easing up on the tone-deaf movie homages? Signs point to "maybe" -- with five episodes left in the season, there's still time for the show to go all "The End of the Affair" on us, but I'm crossing my fingers that the rest of the year is nothing but soapy goodness.

Serena's gone power-mad, Blair's still in the midst of a (slightly more interesting) love triangle, and Lola shows signs of being a useful addition to the story. The outlook is good, gossips -- or I'm just suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Either way, read on for our Top 5 OMG Moments from "It Girl Interrupted."

1. The Princess Divorc?e
When Blair's divorce papers arrived at the top of the hour with nary a complaint from Louis, my eyes were primed to roll, since nothing infuriates me more than the show's silly little plot contrivances that are introduced as apocalyptic game-changers in one episode, only to be wiped from everyone's collective memories two weeks later. (See also: Blair's miscarriage, Lily and Rufus' lovechild, Chuck's numerous near-death experiences, every ex that isn't a series regular, etc.) Yes, I'm aware that "Gossip Girl" is probably not the show to be watching if throwaway plot contrivances irritate me, but here we are. And yet, when it emerged that it was Chuck's intervention that rid Blair of her excess Louis Vuitton Grimaldi baggage, I had to unroll my eyes and admit that it was a good call. Georgina being in Monaco, going all "Black Ops" on the royal family off-screen would've been lazy, but Chuck's selfless act allows the story to evolve in a much more compelling direction.

Sadly, the writers have been running so hot and cold on Blair and Chuck's characterization this season that it's both sensible and irrational of Blair to be so suspicious of Chuck's motives, since in the past, he has always had an ulterior motive for his altruism, but for the most part this season, he's been the bigger man and tried to step back and allow Blair the space to be happy without him. Because of this, Blair came across a little too harsh when Chuck came to her for advice about Elizabeth, and in their later confrontation once she'd found out about him paying off the dowry. I know the writers are set on pursuing the Blair/Dan angle this season, but it shouldn't be necessary to demonize one of her suitors to make the other look good; can't Blair just be exploring her feelings for a new guy without needing to be a bitch about it? But yes, that's a criticism of the writing more than the poor, bipolar characters themselves.

Still, the narrative focus on Blair and Dan has seemed to reignite the show's romantic side; I enjoyed watching Dan give Blair one last princess moment with her gown and tiara on the steps of the Met, and involving a gaggle of headband-wearing, wannabe Queen Bs from Constance was a nice touch. Since this is "Gossip Girl," that sweet moment was hard-won, after Dan had inevitably jumped to conclusions about Blair rekindling things with Chuck following the dowry payment, but if "Gossip Girl" didn't have weekly conclusions for its characters to jump to, it would've jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge by now.

2. The Couple That Schemes Together ...
I was worried that Lola was going to end up a little bland, Chivy style, but you've got to respect a girl willing to go to such elaborate lengths -- and outscheme Serena -- to help her man outsmart an office-stealing cougar. Although apparently neither Lola nor Nate were smart enough to find a way around the legal ramifications of "distributing" a video with a well-developed 16-year-old boy making out with said cougar, which was disappointing. It's hard to outfox a Fembot, I guess.

3. The Fame Monster
We kicked off the episode with Serena eager to ditch the shackles of Gossipdom, no longer wanting to be the subject or the source of any more online scandals, but by the end of the hour, the "It Girl" bug had bitten her once more. Now that her star is fading, Serena seems desperate to cling on to the power of Gossip Girl to keep herself relevant, especially if she can halt Lola's rise to fame in the process. If the show wasn't so ridiculous, there would be a thesis on consumer culture and the transparent efforts of self-sustaining celebutantes like Serena and the Kardashians to keep themselves in the public eye, no matter the cost, just begging to be written, but since this is "Gossip Girl," let's just shake our heads at Serena's latest insecurity and wish that she could find a more sane way to validate herself. It seems like the real GG is impatient to reclaim her virtual throne, so I wonder what dirt she'll dig up to force S into early retirement? Seeing our not-so-heroic heroine manipulating the blasts to her advantage was an amusing addition, but no doubt someone will start noticing the favoritism sooner rather than later.

4. Mummy Dearest?
As I mentioned in last week's recap (and as far back as last December), evidence continues to point towards Diana as Chuck's mystery momma. This week's episode proved, in typically throwaway fashion, that Chuck's previous prime suspect, Elizabeth, is not his real mother, nor was she available to donate blood after his accident, because she was at a Tibetan Monastery. Totally plausible, right? The real question, for those of us who have long memories (or know how to work Wikipedia to refresh said memories), is: who is Diana in league with? When Jack called to tell Diana that there had been an accident involving Chuck, she asked, "You'll meet us there?" So who else would care about Chuck's health to the degree that they'd rush to his bedside with vital fluids? Probably not Nate's grandfather, the only other person we've seen Diana colluding with. Could Bart Bass have faked his death all those years ago, or is there another ally at play? And do we really care? Or do we just want Chuck and Nate to have the awkward conversation about Nate banging his best friend's mom? Yeah, that's more like it.

5. No Sleep 'Til [We're Out Of] Brooklyn
Meanwhile, in the boring land of the grown-ups, Lily and Rufus were squabbling about whether to move back to Manhattan or continue slumming it in Brooklyn. Needless to say, Lily wanted to get back to Barneys, Bergdorf and Bloomingdale's, while Rufus was probably still happy to have a reprieve from his trophy husband showboating. But, in the interests of being a pretty awesome spouse, Rufus went to meet with Ivy about trading the swanky Rhodes apartment in exchange for them unfreezing her assets. (My legal knowledge isn't up to much, but I was fairly sure that unfreezing someone's assets in the middle of legal proceedings was kind of impossible, no?) Regardless of logic, Ivy seemed willing to trade, but Lily, illustrating exactly where Serena inherited her scheme gene from, lured Ivy out of the apartment with a fake check so that she could reclaim it in the name of Sparta or William Wallace or Chanel, or something. Sneaky, Lily! But being a conniving bitch apparently isn't a turn-on for Rufus, who decided to stay in Brooklyn and let Lily roll around on her repossessed rugs solo. Trouble in paradise? Must mean that a well-timed visit from William van der Woodsen can't be far away ...

What did you think of "It Girl Interrupted"? Did you think Blair was too hard on Chuck, or was her mistrust justified? Share your reactions below!

"Gossip Girl" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

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Follow Laura Prudom on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lauinLA

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What would you conservative tax rates actually ... - Finance information

Question by : What tax rates would you actually want for the conservative U.S. ?
Since you always want another tax cut and spending are furious over shutting down prospects of a new one I have to wonder. Specifically, what do you think the tax rates should be in the U.S.? That is, what rates until you stop complaining about taxes? Best answer:

Answer by Union Government Moron
15-20% flat tax on purchases. Period.


Give your answer to this question below!

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